ONE Surfboards has created a board that has changeable nose, tails and fin setups. This is the ultimate surfboard. As the name implies, you only need one surfboard. Partners in One Surfboards are Neal Sumner, Carl Wells, Richard Swiger and Jason Rowells.
The following interview is with Sumner.
When did you get into surfing and how often do you surf?My first board was in the summer of 1968. It was a prototype hollow model design by Hansen Surfboards called The Stratoglass. I surf all of fall, two-thirds of winter, all spring and when there’s swell hitting in the summer. We’ve had above-average summer waves if you look at the past five years overall…three out of five being extremely good. So a lot, and when the line gets completed. Lots of R and D, and R and R [laughs].
One surfboards are more than your average surfboard.The Step-Child is the main board and we offer it in 13 different sizes currently. These 13 models create the choices one desires when choosing their initial staggered model (long board model) four-in-one design, and out of these 13 sizes of 4 boards in 1, are created a total of 52 amazing boards. We began to dig into the design to use for our bottom contours, the fin configurations, and the placement of each in relation to the other. From there, we then created the boards varying rail designs that we dialed into our short boards. We’ve designed a true performance design for maneuverability and release. The Step-Child was born, whose bottom contours are state of art, a board incredibly easy to surf. A surfer can easily change direction, with the slightest weight shift in a split second directional change, and allows the surfer to change his line instantly.
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| ONE Surfboards co-owner Neal Sumner tries out the product on a wave. |
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How do you get such maneuverability out of a longboard…The Staggered?The Staggered models enhance the ability to nose ride, and that’s simply the beginning and only one aspect of the performance capability. Once you step back and take center stage in the middle of The Staggered, or step onto the short board center, The Step-Child, the name of the centerboard in our four-in-one design. You are now actually maneuvering your long board singularly on The Step-Child shortboards platform. It truly makes the handling of your 9’ 0” model pump like that of a modern-day short board. Dependent on your choice of size for the centerboard The Step-Child, you’re able to connect sections driving off the short boards maneuverability, because most of The Staggered nose is now out of the water as you’re positioned center stage on The Staggered mid section.
The nose?When the waves get too big for most to duck dive or turtle, you can simply take off the nose section. Now you can duck dive, allowing a long boarder who struggles a bit getting out when the surf gets big, to take off the nose of The Staggered and push through, dropping in on waves only dreamed of before, and it’s on a similar platform. They’ve been taking off. No more turtle rolls to get out. No more getting blown back off the wave.
What is the Steeple Jack ?The Steeple Jack is our big wave part of the board that combines the tail section and the short or main board as one big wave board able to handle the biggest steepest waves and take big wave surfing to another level. When the waves get serious, you’ve got such potential to crank a turn on The Staggered long board, you can surf and hold edge on waves never before possible by most surfers’ capabilities in the past, but you can with this board. Simply venture back to The Staggered, last two feet, you’ve got rail-to-rail turning capability never before built into a 9’0” long board. This is where The Steeple Jack model shines through within the Staggered four-in-one concept platform. When the Steeple Jack becomes unbridled and is set on rail, biting along on the 48 inches of carving rail through to the tail, the rail and tail sit an entire half-inch higher than the Step-Child platform.
Then, when you go to set the long boards rail, it’s incredibly easy to get it up on edge, and it will allow you to turn the 9’ 0” Staggered like no other long board before its time. We’ve a few special designs to introduce in our Steeple Jack board for when the waves hit 30 feet to enhance paddle in big wave surfing also.
The fin set up?We call our fin design the Modifive. We’ve set up five boxes. The fin layout of the Modifive allows a surfer to surf using five fin placements, with seven variations.
Can you tell me a little bit about the technical and mechanical operation for the four-in-one? I brought on a young industrial designer, Rich Swiger, AKA Swag or Richie Rich as a partner, he has helped implement the design into the boards internalized air lock and release mechanisms. He is combining with the spring loaded rod system, activated by the push button release mechanism creating a totally self sufficient, internally housed locking and release system, completely uncompromised by conditions in the ocean, the sand, wax or surfers.
What do you use to make the boards?We are using EPS [expanded polystyrene] foam and epoxy resins.
Does the company embrace a fair amount of futuristic technology?I would have to say no not at all futuristic, if anything we’re the last 60 years of surfing...some may call it futuristic because it’s not the norm. However we’ve truly just looked at what’s been done, what’s been successful, what we believe will make the best possible boards and forged our designs forward.
Where are you based? Will you be going overseas?We are really not based anywhere currently. Our roots are Wrightsville [North Carolina]. We hope to base offices immediately in California’s Del Mar area, Wrightsville Beach - of course - and France, Australia and Japan.
You guys just revealed the company a few months ago in Cali. How was it? We had a rough go at our reveal, and pretty much due to a few poor decisions on my part late June and into most of July. We had to throw caution to the wind to make it happen. It was a tough lesson. The plus side? We were two days away and a couple of “Yes, we’ll do it,” instead of “No, I don’t think it’s possible,” and we’d have made it happen.
Who is the shaper and how long has he been shaping?Jason Rowells in California has shaped our initial board, which turned out incredibly on the first go. We had a bit of a rush, but ended up with a phenomenal design breakthrough on our bottom contours.
It has been said that good surfboard design has always begun and always will begin with the rocker.It’s everything in my book, matched with fin placement, fin styles and fin size. However, if the rockers not perfect, the fins can’t help it. Our boards’ rockers have ended up working out flawlessly. The rockers created, out of necessity to mate with our nose and tail sections creating our 9’ 0” long board, the Staggered. I’ve combined the rockers and bottom contours, along with our rail design, and a new vision in laying out the Modifive fin systems, to make this short board surf a step or two ahead of most of its peers of today.
What is the least important element on a surfboard?Obvious is color, but you have to love what you ride - and it’s gotta feel good to the stimulated areas of the brain. That’s dodging the question, I think. It would have to be the area on the deck that lies just inside the rails, where it doesn’t affect how the board performs and it doesn’t affect the feel underfoot. I love a totally flat deck, hard to find, but I’m flat footed.
The next area for me would have to be the 10 inches at the nose of most performance boards. Snap that off and most of these are truly 5’ 0”s labeled as 5’ 10” s. But that’s me. If I could pull off airs I may need that 10-inch point to hook back into the lips.
But my thoughts are, you just cover another 6 inches in the air before contacting the wave again and that’s a better trade off. I take that back...I will make aerials my goal for turning 52. I’ll have to invent a name though, ‘cause it’ll be pretty ugly! [Laughs]
Who are these boards best suited for?We have put everything into designing a board with enough volume, developed with performance shape. We believe every board we make has to be a board that the best surfer in the world will surf better on than the one they are currently riding, and that our board will enhance their capabilities to surf bigger, better and faster.
However, we want to make sure that some one who doesn’t have the ability to create their own energy or doesn’t know how to get the most of the waves’ potential, can ride our boards and surf better and above any potential they’ve had, and with our concept people will be able to learn quickly. Which brings us to our goal to be an inclusive surf company, rather than an exclusive one. We want kids, their parents and everyone who is touched by this great sport to possibly choose a ONE surfboard design.
There is an underground buzz that these are some pretty incredible boards.We’re very excited to get these boards to market and see all the buzz and business created. This design is unifying six decades of board design and should it be met with the “wow” we expect, his board will be a part of the industry for the next 60 years. Any time, any place, any where, any wave, anyone.
When can we start seeing them at the local surf shops?We should have certain segments of our board lines in stores for spring of 2011, and we’ll just have to see where things lead in the next 30 days to determine how much we’ll have available and when. Thanks, Neal, and ONE surfboards, for the interview. For information call 919-291-6833 or email
info@onesurfboards.net and
wrightsvilledesigngroup@yahoo.com.
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